Working as a Medical Practitioner in Australia

A 12-month, full-time internship (PGY1) at a recognised hospital is necessary to secure unconditional registration as a medical practitioner in Australia. The number of internships and funding for these positions is broadly controlled by the Department of Health or Human Services in each state/territory, and reflects the service needs of the intern training institutions and the number of graduates in each state who are Australian citizens or who have permanent resident status. Each state varies as to whether application for internship is made to the Health Department, a postgraduate medical council or individual hospitals.

The MDHS Faculty’s five Clinical Schools provide information and assistance with the internship application process during the course of your study with them. Here are some links to further sources of information on the process:

This website is the main source of up-to-date information and deadline dates for internship applications to Victoria. All hospitals offer their intern positions to applicants through the Intern Computer Matching service, conducted by the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria on behalf of the Department of Human Services. If you are considering applying for an intern position in Victoria, it is essential that you familiarise yourself with the application procedures, schedule of dates and information on all hospitals accepting interns on the PMCV’s website: http://www.computermatching.pmcv.com.au

This association publishes an extremely useful booklet each year called the Internship and Residency Guide. This publication can be found on their website here.

Note to international students graduating from an Australian medical course: International students are not guaranteed Australian internships. However, in 2012 an estimated 75% of graduating international students who applied were offered internships in Victorian hospitals for 2013, with a small number offered internships in other Australian states.